Louis Vuitton wins copyright lawsuit in China 19/03/2008 00:00

Louis Vuitton has won a lawsuit against a Chinese hotel who leased space to a shop selling counterfeit products

   BEIJING, March 19, 2008 - Louis Vuitton has won a lawsuit against a
Chinese hotel who leased space to a shop selling counterfeit products using
the French luxury producer's logo, state media reported Tuesday.
   The Intermediate People's Court in Dongguan city in the southern province
of Guangdong has ordered the hotel and the shop manager to pay 100,000 yuan (14,000 dollars) in compensation to Louis Vuitton, the Xinhua news agency said.
   It has also ordered the shop and the hotel, which collected a monthly
rental of 20,000 yuan from the leasing, to stop selling the products and
destroy any remaining items, the report said.
   But it rejected the French company's demand of 500,000 yuan in compensation from the hotel and a public apology through the media, saying the hotel had not caused widespread market harm to Louis Vuitton, it added.
   Separately, the French firm has also won another suit against a Chinese
handbag producer in Beijing for copying its trademark design, according to
sources at a court in the Chinese capital, Xinhua said.
   The handbag company obtained a Chinese patent in October 2003 for a handbag design. But Louis Vuitton said it was too similar to its trademark design and took the company to court in April 2007.
   Xinhua did not say when the verdict in the Beijing case was given.

AFP